Prayer in the Bible

QUESTION: How significant was prayer in the Bible?

ANSWER:

Prayer in the Bible is answered by God in miraculous ways. Throughout the Bible, we find many instances of God's people praying and God answering their prayers. Through this list, you will see that God worked significantly through the prayers of His people:

• Abraham: God agreed to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if He could find 10 righteous people in those cities (Genesis 18:22-32). Unfortunately, this was not the case and these cities were destroyed. However, God still answered Abraham's prayer by sending His angels to remove righteous Lot and his family before the judgment fell. So, even though the evil cities were destroyed, the righteous in those cities were spared.
  
  
• Moses: God miraculously answered many of Moses' prayers including the parting the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13-22) and giving the Israelites good water in the wilderness (Exodus 15:25). Perhaps the most miraculous answer that God gave to Moses was when Moses prayed that God would spare Israel after the incident with the golden calf (Exodus 32:7-14).
  
  
• Elijah: God miraculously answered Elijah's prayer on Mt. Carmel when he rained fire from heaven in the showdown between God and the false god Baal (1 Kings 18:20-40 especially 37-38).
  
  
• Daniel: Daniel's whole career was spent in prayer to God his prayers were miraculously answered. Daniel prayed to be shown the king's undisclosed dream and God answered him (Daniel 2:17-18). Daniel was thrown to the lions because he continually prayed to God and God spared him (Daniel 6:4-24). Daniel prayed for Israel and for forgiveness of their sins when the 70 years of captivity were nearing an end. God answered Daniel's prayer by sending Gabriel to tell him exactly when the Messiah would come (Daniel 9).
  
  
• The church prayed for Peter: The early church in Jerusalem prayed for Peter after his arrest by Herod and God miraculously answered their prayer by sending an angel to free Peter from prison (Acts 12:5-10).
  
  
• David: God answered David's prayer and forgave him for his sin after his adultery with Bathsheba (Psalms 51).
  
  
• Christians today worldwide: God has miraculously answered a prayer from every Christian in the world today when he forgave their sins, made them new creatures in Christ, and gave them His salvation.

Prayer in the Bible was significant! God heard the prayers of these people and He answered in life-changing ways! Even though the power of God is beyond our understanding, beyond our ability to measure, God asks us to cry out to Him in prayer. He already knows our needs and desires, but He wants us to pray! As you read above, God works when people pray!